Main navigation

Wilted Spinach Salad with Edamame, Red Onion, and Black Sesame Seeds

It's nice that spinach is one of the most nutritious foods, because there are so many interesting ways to eat it. I'd probably like just about any salad that had spinach, but this one has edamame and black sesame seeds, two ingredients I'm really loving lately. If you haven't tried black sesame seeds, go to the nearest Asian market and get a big package of them, then have fun sprinkling them on everything. (I store them in the freezer, which is also a good idea for regular sesame seeds.)

This recipe was inspired by a spinach salad I saw in A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, another great book by Jack Bishop. I loved his combination of spinach, browned onions, black sesame seeds, and sesame oil, but I changed the dressing a bit and added edamame when I made my own version. Even if you don't have all the exotic ingredients, you could still make a very a tasty salad with spinach and this dressing.

Instructions:
Wash spinach if needed, spin dry or dry with paper towels. Place spinach in large plastic bowl and have serving plates ready. Cut ends off onion, and peel. Cut onion in half top-to-bottom, then cut each piece into half-moon slices about 1/4 inch thick.

Whisk together vinegar, Agave nectar or honey, sesame oil and salt. (This mixture will be combined with the oil that's used to fry the onions. You can add a bit more oil if it seems too strong when you taste the heated dressing.)

Heat 2 T of oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are well-browned on both sides. (The time will depend on the temperature and your pan, but it took about 8 minutes for my onions to be as browned as I wanted.)

When onions are nearly done, add edamame and heat through, about 1 minute. Add dressing mixture and heat about 30 seconds. (Taste for seasoning and add a bit more oil if the dressing tastes too strong to you.)

Pour hot dressing-onion-edamame mixture over spinach and toss to coat. Arrange spinach mixture on salad plates. Toast sesame seeds about 30 seconds over high heat in a dry frying pan. (Jack Bishop says the black sesame seeds should be toasted for a much shorter time than white ones. Toasting the sesame seeds isn't essential, but it does make them more flavorful.) Use a spoon to sprinkle sesame seeds over each salad and serve immediately.

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

Thank you everyone for all the nice comments about the salad. It was really good.

Melissa, it's the Agave nectar that makes this phase two. Since it has fructose (the same type of natural sweetener that's in fruit) I think it's a phase two item. However, there's a very small amount of Agave, so it probably wouldn't be too serious if you ate it on phase one, I was just being on the safe side calling it phase two.

Yes, I think fresh fava beans would be wonderful to replace the edamame. Lucky you to have those in the garden, and spinach too! (My spinach is barely starting to pop up and will probably go to seed from the heat before I eat any.)

I'm with you about spinach. I had some in my garden last year and it was wonderful!I've been seeing a lot of black sesame seeds lately... Unfortunately only on blogs, not in real life...Maybe Penzey's will ship.... Hmmmmm

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

And if you really like the recipe, Pins, Shares, Tweets, and Yums are always appreciated!

Food Blogger Love!

Copyright Notice

All Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2005-2017, By Kalyn's Kitchen® LLC. I grant permission for photos and recipe links to be used in recipe round-ups and copied to Pinterest and other social media sites. All Other Rights Reserved. (Other bloggers may post their adapted version of a recipe found here, with their own photos and recipe text, but please link back to the inspiring recipe on this site.)

Kalyn's Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.